Celebrity chef, Hilda Baci, has described the unexpected collapse of her custom-made giant pot of jollof rice during her second Guinness World Record attempt as a blessing in disguise.
The incident occurred on September 12 at the World Jollof Festival held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos where Baci and her team prepared nearly 8,780 kilograms (about 19,356 pounds) of jollof rice in a pot measuring six meters wide and tall, with a capacity of about 23,000 litres.
As the crane lifted the giant pot for weighing, one side caved in and the supporting legs buckled, though the food remained intact.
Though, Guinness World Records later confirmed Baci as the official record-holder for cooking the largest pot of jollof rice at a go, the incident scared her to hell.
In a video posted on X recently, Hilda Baci said: “When we had the mishap with the pot, my first few seconds, my heart was in my hands. I was very scared, very worried.
“For me, the record was not the most important thing. It was important that people got to taste and enjoy the food we had spent hours making. I would say it was a good thing that the pot caved because it made food distribution a lot easier… it was a blessing in disguise.”
Reflecting further on the tense moment, the chef said her team had to act quickly, ensuring the process was transparent and properly documented before moving forward.
“So, I reached out to our adjudicator, and I let him know that the pot caved… And he’s like, ‘let’s just proceed’…we had to look for different cameras to see if we had a recording, a clear recording of that, because for me, transparency is very, very important.
“So, once we were able to establish that we had a clear recording of that, it was just straight to the next thing, like to distribute the food.”
On her becoming a two-time Guinness World Record holder, Baci stated, “It’s just a testament that God is good and I’m a child of grace. When I tell you grace is here and you doubt me, look at my track record. Trust the Lord.”
In May 2023, after cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes, Hilda Baci had won the record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.